Making it Past the Halfway Mark of Winter

It is a great thing to have gotten into the second half of winter. 16 January is the halfway mark no matter how one measures the start and end of the season. I usually look at winter as starting here in Wyoming on 15 October and ending around 15 April. Obviously there can be nice, warm days at the beginning and end of this time frame and April 15 is by no means a sure end to the season whatsoever; but the lengths of days shorten precipitously and noticeably starting in mid October into November, and bad weather can start to occur with increasing regularity at these points By the time we reach mid January one can start to see the days lengthen again and sunsets start to creep past 5pm again. The sun angle starts to improve back to where it was before Thanksgiving, and it seems the gloom has at least the possibility of lifting even temporarily, although February and March remain as difficult hurdles to overcome still. At least when we get to this point it seems the worse half of Winter is done. When I am down the road 100 to 200 miles in Colorado, I tend to cut the time by about 12 to 15 days at each end, and even more so in New Mexico and Arizona. When I do move to Pacific Northwest in the coming years I may have to re-access this date and time frame to reflect the climate and weather there which has enormous differences than what I have experienced for most of my life here in the Mountain West.

I considered not even writing this post with the plain dullness that my life has completely entailed this last week or so. I have done virtually nothing of any importance or significance that is even minimally noteworthy. About all I have done is make a pitstop at Safeway for a few items; go to McDonalds once to read the papers on Friday and to sit in the afternoon sunshine coming in through the windows there; watch Colorado Avalanche and NHL hockey, MWC basketball, and the NFL Conference Finals; take in some other shows I enjoy on some of the weeknights; and keep abreast of news items and stories of interest. I have spent much time surfing the net and have done some work on my blog. I ordered a pizza for delivery on Sunday night during the second half of the Steelers game, and the pepperonis, mushrooms, green peppers, onions, and tomatoes on the pie really hit the spot and tasted superb.

I also listened to some music on my stereo, including some CDs from Jackson Browne, Seals and Crofts, The Eagles, 70s Soul music, The Doors, and The Pretenders. I also put some albums on my turntable to listen to from REO Speedwagon, ZZ Top, and music from Miami Vice.

I talked on the phone to my youngest sister L briefly to thank her for the package of Xmas gifts she sent me that I received on Friday. She truly went all out getting me about ten shirts and some nice dress shorts as well as some chocolates. I am very grateful for her consideration and thoughtfulness in taking the time selecting these items and sending them to me.

I also had a nice long conversation with my friend Matt. We talked about a number of various things, and I hope I get a chance to share some time and activities with him again before February ends. But I know doing so will be difficult as he is very busy with his work and four nights of night schools and all that requires from him during the rest of his weeks.

I am looking forward to receiving a package of some items from the eldest of my younger sisters, M. She sent me an Xmas card that I also received early last week that contained a CD of Xmas music I can use in coming years.

And I believe I neglected to mention the Christmas card I received about two weeks ago from the middle of my three younger sisters K, which also included a gift card for dining at Red Lobster. I apologize to her and her family for my oversight in not recognizing and thanking them for their gift and thoughtfulness.

As usual the wind continues to blow virtually ceaseless here, but the weather overall has not been too bad. We did have a dusting of snow last Monday into Tuesday, but for the most part its been warmer and drier than normal, and its gotten into the low 50s a few times in the last week. Snowfall so far this winter has only been about 55 % of normal. We may even see a 60 degree day perhaps both Tuesday and Wednesday, but it will be accompanied by a pretty good wind that will limit one's enthusiasm. But as usual, no good things like this can last as the forecast is for colder weather with some light snow by Thursday into next weekend but even the numbers they are talking about are about seasonal norms rather than the above numbers we have had for 15 of 18 days so far this month as it has been over six degrees above normal so far. Except for some short stretches of about three to four days at the most, winter has not been severe for the first two and half to three months in this area so far; that is a good harbinger for the next two to three months I believe. I hope to see my first blooming trees and shrubs in about 90 days or so !

By far the greatest benefit of this layoff has been an all but full diminishment of the pain in my fingers, hands, and wrists. The rest I have gotten has been thereupetic and I feel good in spite of some hassles dealing with a cold in the last week. Clearly getting plenty of rest is important for anyone and everyone, and I have been able to just that in the last several weeks, and I am sleeping pretty good and deeply with virtually no interuptions - maybe once a night about one night a week. I try not to drink or eat three to four hours before going to bed, but in the dryness of winter, it is impossible not to be having get drinks of water at least once or twice every hour. I drink probably about 12-15 cups of water daily because my mouth and throat get so dry. I have a humidity measuring indicator in my main room that shows the humidity inside the unit is around 24 to 29 %. That is probably a little low, so at times I run my humidifier and even boil a pot of water on the stove top to get the number up some, but its difficult to do at this elevation and latitude most times of the year and particularly in the winter when the cold air holds virtually zero moisture when a storm is not in the area. My hands get very dry and scaly, and I have to use a lotion on them to soothe them as they itch and are uncomfortable. Taking a shower really drys out one's body tremendously with the removal of the oils on the skin, and it seems one's skin has itches in places all over the body with this removal and the dryness of the skin that ensues. I probably need to look into using a better moisturizing body soap during this time of the year. I think my shampoo does a pretty good job on my scalp in not exacerbating dryness than I realize, since it never seems I have problems there even if I do not wash my hair for a few days or more.

I am not sure if anything interesting beyond what I anticipate awaits me this week. I do expect to receive the package from M, and I hope to get out and take advantage of the all-you-can-eat pancakes at IHOP at some point. My viewing of sports will see a brief decline this week with the end of the NFL approaching, and the NHL taking about five days off for the All Star game break this upcoming weekend. But we are now into week four of ten of Mountain West basketball and this season so far shows promise of being strongly competitive and entertaining. I catch games on Tuesday and Wednesday nights (one or two each night) and then the full four game slate on Saturdays which can appear on three different channels: the MTN (the conference's tv outlet), CBS-College Sports, and Versus. This group of outlets is really great to have as it gives one the chance to really follow the conference much closer than was the case in the past.

I hope that coverage and televising options for the NHL improve markedly in the next few years. Right now I only get a game on Monday and Tuesday night each and a less than regular game on Sundays from mid January on with NBC. We do not get the NHL network here in Cheyenne with the cable which peeves me. I understand there is a possibility for more NHL games to be available in the next couple of years with perhaps a return to ESPN and even some games on CNBC in the evenings after the business world they cover has shut down for the evening and night. Thank goodness there are 2-4 Avalanche games each week to keep me engaged and on task with keeping up with the league.

And baseball is less than a month from starting to get back into my consciousness. Pitchers and catchers start to report in less than four weeks, which is always a milestone to let me know the winter is moving towards ending.

But the Super Bowl matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the upstart Arizona Cardinals will be one of the big news items over the next two weeks. I am very pleased to see these two clubs make it to the big game, and in the case of Arizona, it is very refreshing to see this franchise which has long languished in The Valley of the Sun for two decades to have this accomplishment achieved. But the road for the Cardinals ends in Tampa as I believe the Steelers will win the game, somewhere around 27-17. Pittsburgh has a definitive advantage on defense and will have enough offense to win the game comfortably. If the Steelers do win, it will be the franchise's sixth Super Bowl win, a new standard for excellence.

Other than the regular activities and interests, I do not anticipate much different.

I watched the episode of Different Housewives on Sunday night, recording it on the DVR as it started before the Steelers game ended. It was a particularly good episode and it got me to thinking about what my life has been about. I have been one to have a strong tendency to be a hermit and pursue solitary activities and interests. I do not believe I have been overly too helpful to many other people, and to an extent I am bothered by that. I hope I can into situations and an environment in coming years where the opportunities for that are greater, but it is unclear to me if that will ever eventuate or if I can overcome my strong tendencies and personality to be and do just the opposite. I have to think that following my passing that there will be few individuals outside of family and few friends that will be even aware of this, and if there were to be a funeral (which is not my desired option), that only they would be in attendance and having thoughts that are mournful and full of rememberances. I do not believe that is a bad thing necessarily, but with the life I have led with all its turmoil and instability as well as residing in several different places over the years, this would seem inevitable. Not that I am displeased and sad about such a development, but it does give one cause to pause to consider and contemplate such matters. I just do not think its possible I will have a funeral like the one in the program last night for the handyman character Eli Scruggs as portrayed by Beau Bridges.

Maybe I should consider as a new career to be a handyman with myself getting further into my 50s and now past an age where any new direction is extremely difficult to fully attain and make financially successful; and maybe my somewhat equally financially challenged, maybe lost youngest brother could join my in this occupational pursuit on a part time basis in the coming years when he gets past age 50 to 55 if he does not find an adequately financially rewarding calling of his own, especially since his journalistic endeavors to be financially successful look to be scanty at best when it comes to being even minimally compensated. It could have greater benefits than are evident, and there is nothing that I probably cannot do or gain a level of competency or expertise at over time.

Alas, enough pondering and thought provoking self-searching. I think I will go out to McDonalds and get some breakfast and read the papers.

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